Claude developer Anthropic is seeking a record valuation while acknowledging potentially catastrophic risks from its own technology
US artificial intelligence giant Anthropic has formally filed for a potentially record-breaking initial public offering (IPO), according to regulatory documents. The developer of the Claude chatbot could become the first publicly traded company focused primarily on advanced AI models, even as it warns that its own technology could threaten humanity.
The San Francisco-based company submitted its public registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, revealing plans to list on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT. The offering could take place as early as November, although its size and share price have yet to be announced.
“The advent of machine intelligence is one of the seminal moments in human history,” Anthropic declared in its prospectus, presenting AI as a technology capable of transforming the global economy.
The company is reportedly seeking a valuation of up to $2 trillion and could raise as much as $100 billion, potentially surpassing the record set by Elon Musk’s SpaceX earlier this year. The figures remain preliminary and were not confirmed in the public filing.
SpaceX completed the largest IPO in history in June, raising $85.7 billion at a valuation of around $1.8 trillion. However, the record-breaking listing drew criticism over its lofty valuation. Investment research firm Morningstar estimated the company’s fair value at just $63 per share, less than half its $135 IPO price.
Similar questions are emerging over Anthropic’s valuation. The company reported $16.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026 but posted a net loss of $80.7 billion, largely driven by accounting adjustments. Its IPO filing also disclosed hundreds of billions of dollars in future infrastructure commitments, raising concerns about whether its rapid growth can justify a valuation of up to $2 trillion.
The company itself has warned that its business is highly capital-intensive and that it may never achieve sustained profitability. Its prospectus also acknowledges intense competition, uncertain demand, and the possibility that the enormous sums invested in computing infrastructure may not generate sufficient returns.
Anthropic’s IPO prospectus also contains stark warnings about the technology underpinning the company’s business. Around 80 pages of the 261-page filing are devoted to risk factors, with the company admitting that advanced AI could “pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity.”
The dangers outlined include the use of AI to develop biological and chemical weapons, the loss of human control over increasingly powerful systems, and lasting damage to human mental health and cognitive abilities. Anthropic also acknowledged that its own AI models have displayed behavior resembling blackmail and resistance to shutdown during testing.
The warnings follow a string of incidents involving rogue AI agents, including an Anthropic model submitting a false homicide tip to police and OpenAI agents disabling safety monitors and hacking external systems.
